Rowcruiser - now sold.

I have been asked about various aspects of the rowcruiser and my trips by visitors to my digital 'scrapbook'. Here are some of the responses organised by topic.

Cooking on-board. I love how self-contained the boat can become. I cook with a little canned gas cooker on the cockpit floor, sheltered from the wind, perfect. I eat on the sliding seat, but have another fold up seat that I can use. Pontoons are a must as the boat is effectively like a bigger canoe and will tip you out if you stand up without support.

Sleeping. I am at the design limit. I am 110 kilos, 186 cm and have a bit of width. Sleeping is a concern, as I like to sleep comfortably, call me 'spoilt bastard' if you like. I use two layers of foam matting and a 3/4 hiking mate. I did build the boat with the extra leg room, so the forward bulkhead was moved towards the bow. I carry some bottles of water in the bow storage area for ballast and drinking if required. I then carry about 20 litres in the main cabin but towards the bow. When I go to sleep, I move the water from the cabin and put it in the aft storage. That way, when I am afloat and sleeping, the bow is not ridiculously low and stern high. My shoulders are very close to a pair of ribs in the boat. I use pontoons for stability. I store them on the aft deck.

Deep water anchoring. A long rode is required. Get pontoons and anchor where there is protection. I anchored on dead coral one trip and found the anchor would not hold. I have an anchor, two metres of chain and rope. I added a two kilogram kettle-weight (gym) to where the chain meets the rope. No problems. However, I am still nervous about leaving my boat at anchor when wandering ashore.

Surf. I have often wondered how I would go about getting ashore in surf. Going out would be ok, however I would do something about the hatch. Going in would be frightening, the riggers would be the first to snap off while rolling. When I have caught small North Queensland waves to the shore I would just come down the slides and transfer my weight aft and my hands low in the boat to keep the oars high. Then when the boat goes off course, the small wave knocks it back on course, or the wave passes under me.

Roof-racks. The boat is too difficult to man-handle onto a roof so I have to use a box-trailer with a long draw-bar. I use a saw-horse and lift one end of the boat onto that and then the other end into the water. Finally, lift the saw-horse end into the water as well. I have a kayak trolley that has been strengthened to get it down the beach if required. Moving the rowcruiser up and down the beach needs planning, extra equipment and another person helps immensely.

Coming ashore. For long trips (several nights), pulling the boat a long way up the beach is not practical, even with wheels. Soft sand, rocks and a slope can be killers at the end of a day of rowing.

Butt joints. Butt joints were fine. After the hull is sheaved, it is not an issue at all. If the boat came off the trailer at 60 km an hour, then that might be a weak spot, but I don't think much else would survive either.

Crocodiles. I don't go to croc "infested" areas. I do realise that when I am on the sea, crocs can be around, but as yet I have not seen any while rowing. I am sure plenty of crocs have have seen my boat though and decided not to show themselves. I live near Cairns, Queensland, Australia and crocs are a real threat. The most recent casualty was a diver taken in March 2017.

Boat trim. The trim of the boat is crucial. Rowing with no gear is hard on a windy day as the bow just gets blown downwind. The boat needs some kind of ballast ie, gear, water, or a person in the cabin. Again, that is related to my weight. It is not a design fault, but more of a design compromise. If you do not intend sleeping inside, then the rowing position could be moved forward. If you do not intend sleeping inside, then consider if this is the right boat for you.

The design. Design limitations exist in everything. I wish the cabin would be a touch higher when sleeping, and a touch lower when rowing across the wind. I wish the rowing position was further forward when I have no passenger nor gear, and further back when I have my wife with me or gear. I wish it was much smaller so I could put it on the roof of the car rather than using the trailer but need a good sized boat for the longer trips.

“Design is a compromise”, particularly in relation to vessels. Try as hard as you can, you still can not have it all.